Winning with the last tile from the live wall discarded by another player. If the dealt hand contains flower or season tiles, they are placed face up above and to the side of the hand and replaced with regular tiles taken from the wall’s back end. The National Mah Jongg League determines a list of hands for scoring (NML). Each player keeps a card for reference when building hands and employing Mahjong strategies. Singaporean – Malaysian Mahjong is based on the Hong Kong version and adds in 4 special Animal tiles, and uses special melding conditions not seen in other variations of the game. Changsa Mahjong is similar to Wuhan where specific tiles have to be in hand to win, but removes Honor tiles to streamline gameplay.

Japanese mahjong has a special rule called sanchahō, which is, if three players claim the same discard in order to win, the hand is drawn. One reason for this is that there are cases in which bars of 1,000 points for declaring rīchi cannot be divided by three. The dealer marker is a round or square object that the dealer places to the side to remind players who the dealer is. The wind marker may be used which indicates the current prevailing wind.

• Mahjong is an adventure with many paths, and regional variations can add exciting twists to the game.
• A player must construct a winning hand of four sets and one pair to win a game.
• The most distinctive pieces in a mahjong set are undoubtedly the tiles.
• The claiming player is then required to place the completed set face-up in front of their hand.
• Mah Jongg is a cooperative game that requires precision, skill, strategy and good luck.
• In addition to the regular tiles mentioned above, a Mah Jongg set also includes 8 jokers.

Although in many variations scoreless hands are possible, many require that hands be of some point value in order to win the hand. Many variations have specific hands, some of which are common while some are optional depending on regions and players. One example is the Pure Green hand made of chows or pongs using 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 of bamboo and green dragon. If the dealer wins the hand, they will remain the dealer and an extra hand is played in addition to the minimum 16 hands in a match. If multiple players call for a discarded tile, priority for the discard depends on the declared action of the player stealing the discard. The players then push their walls together forming a square, the hollow center of which will be used for discarding tiles. This quintessentially Chinese game is, in fact, very similar to a number of Western card games such as rummy.

What Are the Honor Tiles?

They should announce it verbally and place all their tiles on top of their rack. In some sets, they are represented as different varieties of flowers and may also have seasons printed on them. These differences are irrelevant for American Mah Jongg and all flower tiles are interchangeable.

A mahjong set with winds in play will usually include a separate prevailing wind marker (typically a die marked with the wind characters in a holder). Each line on the card represents a winning hand, with 14 tiles in each hand. The hands are depicted in one, two or three colors, indicating the number of suits required. In the case of the first turn, the dealer, going first, draws one tile from the wall.

A winning hand in mahjong consists of fourteen tiles.

Pung or kong with all 3 Dragon tiles, any set of chow, pung, or kung, and any pair. Different variations of Mahjong have specific scoring systems, though a common basis is the payout. In online games, you usually discard a tile by double-clicking it or dragging it to the center of the game, and the tile is announced by the computer. In some online games, the tile is automatically drawn and given to you; in others, you have to click a button to expressly request it. The final piece of information on the card is the number of points for each hand. This indicates how many points you will receive if you win with this hand.

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Korean mahjong has a simple scoring system where only winner scores without any form of doubling. Mahjong sets contain 144 tiles, traditionally made of ivory or bone. Three basic suits (dots, characters and bamboos), two honor suits (wind and dragon tiles) and one optional suit (flowers) are included in each tile set. Old Hong Kong mahjong is played with a standard set of 144 mahjong tiles (though cards may be used). Sets often include counters (to keep score), dice (to decide how to deal), and a marker to show who the dealer is and which round is being played. Some sets include racks to hold the tiles, especially if they are larger or smaller than standard tiles or have an odd shape.

Wuhan Mahjong

So far, we’ve discussed the various tiles and how to read the card to determine the winning combinations. There are several steps to a game and we’ll cover each in turn. Once the dealer is chosen, it’s time to build the Great Wall of Mahjong! Imagine the wall as two layers of tiles, stacked two tiles high, 17 tiles long, and arranged in a rectangular shape. There’s a gap in the middle of the wall, and this gap is crucial because it’s where players will draw their tiles from. The Flower tiles vary by set, although plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo are often used.

Mahjong For 5 Players

Japanese mahjong, especially in a gambling environment, may optionally use four yakitori markers to indicate which players have not won a hand yet and has to pay a penalty. These animal tiles are used in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and local variations. However, as they have no corresponding seat position, any player who draws one of these gets a bonus point. The losers pay the winning player points based on several criteria and depending on whether the game is for fun or for money.

For brisk games players may agree that a couple seconds after a discard are allowed for a "window of opportunity" before the next player picks up from the wall. Usually it is agreed once the next player has waited the duration of the "window of opportunity" and draws a tile from the wall, the previous discard is lost and cannot be claimed. Technically, the declaration for winning a hand may be done at any time. Another potential penalty is the player who called out the false win must play the rest of the hand with their tiles face up on the table so other players can see them (open hand).

There are 3 suits (cracks, dots and bams) and the numbers run from 1 to 9. Each section in this guide will be illustrated with screen captures of tiles from our Online Mah Jongg Game. Note that there is a wide variety of tile designs available, so the tiles in your set may look different from the ones pictured here.

Alternatively, a player may also win by drawing a tile that completes a legal hand. In Hong Kong mahjong, winning from the wall doubles the number of base points each loser must pay. In Western games a winning hand is chicken mystake often referred to as a “mahjong” and the player will call it as such when he or she has drawn the winning tile. Despite Mahjong Solitaire’s seemingly simple pairing format, there is a strategy to winning the game.